We Rise by Lifting Others Up by Ariv

Kindness and a few words of positivity can go a long way. 

I’ve experienced this myself. On a random Monday morning while I was finishing up my art project, my Spanish teacher came up to me and commented on my project. “This is some really nice work you have here. Keep up the good work.” this instantly put a smile on my face and gave me more confidence and triumph throughout my day.

There’s a study about words that tells a touching story: “Years ago, I was in the hospital and there was one woman who went through a miscarriage. No one visited her, and she was so lonely, suffering from pain and severe complications. Once, I saw her crying alone in the hall. I wiped her tears and said, ‘Women are strong. You’ll heal and have a happy life.’ She smiled through tears, and I saw she was feeling better. Ten years later, I saw her in a newspaper. Her name was Sylvia. The article said she’d become this incredible guardian angel, helping thousands of women going through miscarriages, toxic families, poverty, you name it.

A year after that, Sylvia found me. She showed up at my doorstep when I was struggling. My husband had been in a serious accident. I was alone, barely surviving. To my shock, she looked me in the eyes and said, ‘Women are strong. You’ll heal and have a happy life.’ She helped with everything: medical bills, therapy for my autistic kid, even my house. I never imagined that a simple act of kindness, just wiping someone’s tears, would come back to me in the biggest way possible.”

Words can be used to help and harm people. For example, you are walking down a park and see someone jogging and you say,  “Keep up the good work. You are doing great.” That  small act of kindness makes people feel more confident and motivated about themselves.

Saying kind words to almost anybody can make you feel good and make the other person feel good about themselves too. Those kind words give you a feeling of accomplishment and pride after successfully making another person  feel good too, and who knows, maybe people will start spreading kindness to others.

Hopefully more and more people will give words of kindness and encouragement. But to make that happen someone needs to start a spark to eventually start a fire of kindness. One small act could encourage other people to start acting kindly.

I’ve experienced this before, like when I was walking down a trail and saw a kid no older than me. I told him to keep up the good work and that he was doing great. That instantly gave him a smile and put a smile on my face too. I left that trail knowing I made someone happy.

An Article on the CNN website tells us, “Making a donation, doing an hour of volunteer work or engaging in some other small act of kindness may seem insignificant in the list of big things that make a happy life, but the data says otherwise, according to Ron-Levey.“ Acts of generosity predict happiness even more than earning a higher salary.”

Everyone can offer a few uplifting words to put a smile on someone’s face and give them a new mindset that says, “I believe in myself or I got this.” That motivates people and allows them to be more confident and joyful. The goal at the end  of the day is to make others feel encouraged and confident about themselves. 

This has occurred to me many times before, such as when my friend was mad about his test score. I gave him a few words of kindness and later he was more self-assured and determined to get a better score on his test. This shows how saying something nice can motivate people.  

Kindness promotes a positive mindset by releasing “feel-good” hormones like dopamine and serotonin, which improve mood and satisfaction. It increases self-esteem, reduces stress by lowering blood pressure and cortisol levels, and strengthens social bonds to combat loneliness. Acts of kindness can also be contagious, fostering a more positive and compassionate environment for everyone.

Making people happier by expressing goodwill toward them is like giving a kid a present on their birthday. He feels appreciated and happy that someone has given him a gift just like how a few kind words can motivate and uplift people to strive for better.

But it all  starts with you. Just one kind deed or one kind word to at  least one person could be the spark we are looking for to start the fire.